Eight Year Old Gets To Meet His "Boyfriend" Darren Criss

Say what you want about Glee's Darren Criss, but this much is true: he's at least a great sport and, perhaps more likely, a hero to many.

Mom and HuffPost blogger Amelia and her eight-year old son definitely think so.

Amelia's son came out to her after being inspired by Glee, and specifically, Darren Criss's character Blaine. After Darren announced his 16 city tour, Amelia and her husband decided to make their son's two-year old dream a reality.

My kiddo was so nervous and anxious that he was practically jumping out of his skin. And then he was there, and my son met his first love. It was adorable. Darren Criss was charming and lovely, and my son was so shy but happy. As for their conversation, that's not really mine to share. Maybe someday, when my kid is older, he'll write about it, but until then, it remains as it should be: between him and Darren.

When it was my turn to talk, I found my normally sure-spoken self decidedly absent. What could I say to this young man who meant so much to my kid, this young man who, by playing a television character, had helped lead my son to tell me about his orientation and, by extension, helped change the trajectory of my own life toward activism? "Thank you" felt so insufficient, but it was all I had.

When our chat ended, there were hugs all around, and we headed back down to wait for the show. This was the part I was worried about: the crowd, the craziness. But it turns out that I shouldn't have worried at all. We got to watch the show from a location where my son could see everything and not be jostled around by those he didn't know. My kid spent most of the performance on my lap, taking pictures from time to time.

Then, in the middle of the show, Darren began to play one of his original songs, "Not Alone." The crowd quieted for this sweet, sentimental ballad. I snuggled close to the boy on my lap and sang the lyrics into his ear:

"Baby, you're not alone,
'Cause you're here with me,
And nothing's ever gonna bring us down,
'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you,
And you know it's true.
It don't matter what'll come to be;
Our love is all we need to make it through."

How can anyone in a Family So-And-So organization say that this is bad parenting?! Brava, Amelia. Brava.

Who would've been your "my boyfriend" when you were 8 years old? I'll shamelessly get the ball rolling with the obvious: Marky Mark for Calvin Klein was "my boyfriend" for a good four years of my young life.

I knew since my earliest memory that I was gay – not because I knew or understood that word, but because I had crushes on boys instead of girls. If my familial/social/religious dynamic had allowed me to come to terms with this and say it out loud, as this kid has, perhaps I could have avoided years of shame, confusion, and self-loathing... There is nothing "creepy" about being gay at any age. What people fail to understand is that it's not about sex, it's about who you are. If this was a GIRL who called him her "boyfriend," would it be different for you?